I would say the thing that jumped out at me is the amount of trimming everything gets before a finished shoe is born. From the inseam to the welt, to the sole, and the heel stack. I would think it incredibly difficult to know what is right and not over do it.

While I was watching, the sole trimming operationS were driving me nuts! I think fully 3/4 of the construction time went into hewing away teenie bits of sole/welt edge and filing it down. I am very aware of operational efficiency in manufacturing systems and while I get the whole "this is the traditional way" aspect of Crispin's shoemaking process, it was nagging at me the whole time.

At least they were using a dinky little knife that didn't protrude much beyond the thickness of the cut to mitigate potential damage to the upper. But then he/she kept pulling it toward the crotch of his/her pants and I winced a little more.

I would say the thing that jumped out at me is the amount of trimming everything gets before a finished shoe is born. From the inseam to the welt, to the sole, and the heel stack. I would think it incredibly difficult to know what is right and not over do it.

While I was watching, the sole trimming operationS were driving me nuts! I think fully 3/4 of the construction time went into hewing away teenie bits of sole/welt edge and filing it down. I am very aware of operational efficiency in manufacturing systems and while I get the whole "this is the traditional way" aspect of Crispin's shoemaking process, it was nagging at me the whole time.

At least they were using a dinky little knife that didn't protrude much beyond the thickness of the cut to mitigate potential damage to the upper. But then he/she kept pulling it toward the crotch of his/her pants and I winced a little more.

I am looking for an easy solution to removing indigo denim stains on light tan suede boots of average department store quality. Is the eraser the trick? Is *any* eraser the trick? Perhaps a Pink Pearl?

While I was watching, the sole trimming operationS were driving me nuts! I think fully 3/4 of the construction time went into hewing away teenie bits of sole/welt edge and filing it down. I am very aware of operational efficiency in manufacturing systems and while I get the whole "this is the traditional way" aspect of Crispin's shoemaking process, it was nagging at me the whole time.

At least they were using a dinky little knife that didn't protrude much beyond the thickness of the cut to mitigate potential damage to the upper. But then he/she kept pulling it toward the crotch of his/her pants and I winced a little more.

I had a re-sole (1/2) done on welted shoes and they just ran it through the machine.

Worse, without a lot of attention, running the shoe through a machine the second time runs the risk of "postage stamping" the welt. Although the risk may be minimized by the fact that in a shoemaking operation (as opposed to a shoe repair shop) the stitch length on those machines is probably never changed, so it's theoretically going to hit in the same holes.

Worse, without a lot of attention, running the shoe through a machine the second time runs the risk of "postage stamping" the welt. Although the risk may be minimized by the fact that in a shoemaking operation (as opposed to a shoe repair shop) the stitch length on those machines is probably never changed, so it's theoretically going to hit in the same holes.

Theoretically.

I would imagine even a millimeter off would exponentiate across the rest of the welt.

I would imagine even a millimeter off would exponentiate across the rest of the welt.

It can happen that way. To some extent the awl will tend to deflect into an already existing hole if the settings are not exact, but generally speaking that only compounds the problem further down the line of stitch.

Furthermore, when stitching around the toe, for instance, the stitch length can change slightly...sometime markedly...due to a combination of friction and the limitations of machine stroke. And there is no guarantee that when restitching by machine those factors will be duplicated exactly.

Of course, in all of this we're assuming that the old stitches have been pulled--not a given in every place and time.

What's also interesting is how these shoes that people baby so much get beat to shit with a hammer whilst being made.

You don't beat the shoes to shit with the hammer. You curl and form the upper with time, slight pressure, consistent hammer strikes - light and fast, and you add moisture as per necessary - water. If you beat the shit out of the upper, tell me if that's qualified to keep on the production line, let alone having it delivered to a customer.

I just got a new pair of (discontinued) Barkers from Herringshoes. Its a full grain calf skin upper. They looked fine at first glance but there seems to be a slight "issue" which i have noticed with the leather.

While inspecting the shoes, i noticed these marks- the leather seems "dry"? also, when i press the leather, this happens.

*picture is showing the right shoe and the "concerned" area is the left part of the upper (where your large toe is).

I think its worth noting that this happens only at certain areas of the upper, not the entire shoe.

1. Should i be worried? is the leather "old and dry"? - this assumption is based on the fact that its on sale and a discontinued model.

2. Should i condition them immediately? I know (from scouring the forum) that it is a good idea to do so when first getting a new pair of shoes. I did put on leather cream as a bare minimum.

Any further comments or advise would be great. If my post isn't clear do let me know and i'll try to take more pictures. Also, these are my first pair of calf skin shoes, so i know next to nothing about how the leather should feel and/or react.

I just got a new pair of (discontinued) Barkers from Herringshoes. Its a full grain calf skin upper. They looked fine at first glance but there seems to be a slight "issue" which i have noticed with the leather.

While inspecting the shoes, i noticed these marks- the leather seems "dry"? also, when i press the leather, this happens.

*picture is showing the right shoe and the "concerned" area is the left part of the upper (where your large toe is).

I think its worth noting that this happens only at certain areas of the upper, not the entire shoe.

1. Should i be worried? is the leather "old and dry"? - this assumption is based on the fact that its on sale and a discontinued model.

2. Should i condition them immediately? I know (from scouring the forum) that it is a good idea to do so when first getting a new pair of shoes. I did put on leather cream as a bare minimum.

Any further comments or advise would be great. If my post isn't clear do let me know and i'll try to take more pictures. Also, these are my first pair of calf skin shoes, so i know next to nothing about how the leather should feel and/or react.

Thank you.

Cheers.

Dried and cracked... You can hope on conditioning it and wear it in long rotation, but the way this is going, it won't get better.